Sanctuary Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 124,194 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $61,519,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,898,000. Farmers National Bank boosted its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 6,351 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,234,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the period. RiverFront Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 9.9% in the second quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 25,048 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $12,756,000 after purchasing an additional 2,254 shares during the period. Heritage Oak Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the second quarter valued at $763,000. Finally, Souders Financial Advisors increased its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 11,461 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $5,837,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE UNH opened at $583.33 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $580.50 and its 200 day moving average is $525.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $538.66 billion, a PE ratio of 35.66, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $436.38 and a 1 year high of $607.94.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.66 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $98.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.73 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.55% and a net margin of 3.66%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.69 earnings per share for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 51.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on UNH. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $600.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $555.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group raised their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $640.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. HSBC increased their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $580.00 to $610.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered UnitedHealth Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $614.17.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,812,029.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Erin Mcsweeney sold 1,500 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $579.03, for a total transaction of $868,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,785 shares in the company, valued at $4,507,748.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.88, for a total value of $1,624,727.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,812,029.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Profile

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health care coverage, and health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; and health and dental benefits, and hospital and clinical services, as well as health care benefits products and services to state programs caring for the economically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage.